The Pokémon Games
by PokemonChronicles
Summary: After the destruction of the Pokémon government, the rebels started a game where thirty-two young teens, half male and half female, were randomly selected to fight to the death in an arena until only one remained. However, everyone who entered the game would have to become a randomly chosen Pokémon!
1. Chapter 1

_The feeling of inevitable death was creeping upon me.  
_  
My name is Akia. I was fourteen at the time this all happened, and I was a pretty strong girl from District 10. I had shaggy, long brown hair; a set of sky blue eyes, and a golden yellow flower pin in my hair. I was sitting on edge of my living room couch with my family, watching our television intensely. But that wasn't because I was watching a suspenseful show, where the heroic protagonist was facing the evil antagonist. Instead, I was watching a live broadcast made by the Capitol, where the tributes were chosen for The Pokémon Games. "The Pokémon Games" is an event where 32 individuals, ages thirteen through seventeen, are transformed into Pokémon before fighting to the death in an Arena. The last remaining tribute wins.

Except... I was going to be in that years' games, the 99th Pokémon Games, unless a miracle happened. I had volunteered for the games after the death of my boyfriend in the games. You couldn't recall your request, so I was committed to the games unless someone else had volunteered.

I looked over to my right, and found my little sister, Soeta. I despised her. She was a selfish, spoiled, rascal of a sibling with absolutely no love for anyone. All she cared about was getting her way, no matter the lengths or means. Not that my mother was much better. She wasn't selfish, but she absolutely hated me. She did nothing when my boyfriend died in the games, and even laughed at me about it. According to her, I was the one responsible for my father's death. It wasn't my fault, and I hated that she accused me of that because I loved my dad more than anyone. He was bright, cheerful, and always ready to put someone in a good mood. He died when a tree fell the wrong way, and I just so happened to be there when it happened.

Music started coming from the TV, and it displayed the stage of the Capitol, the place used for interviews with the tributes, plays, band performances, and the raffle. The man on stage was the president, but he didn't _look_ like one. The previous president, President Giovanni, was nearly 120 years old when he finally passed away two only years before. The new president, President Viscoshi, who was wearing a golden crown and a stylized green cloak, looked like he was twenty... And, strangely, a little like a Pokémon. He had a slightly stretched-out face, a stubby black nose, and lime colored eyes. Strangely, though, between the 98th and 99th Pokémon Games, he'd dyed his hair from a light brown to a dark green.

The president started to talk while drawing names from different jars. Every one of the jars contained slips with the names of every single teenage boy or girl in the districts on them, with each jar representing a different district. Districts 1-9 meant nothing to me, as I knew a grand total of zero of their tributes. Twenty minutes passed before he got to the tenth district, and drew a slip from the jar.

"Kyle... Acosha."

I nearly had a heart attack. Kyle was in The Pokémon Games. Kyle was from my school, and was two grades ahead of me. He was a dumb brute, completely selfish, and could easily, EASILY win a fight. That's when I knew I had no chance in the games. All I could do was hope that someone else had volunteered.

Then, the president put his hand through the gap of his cloak, took it out holding a tiny envelope, and held it high.

"For the girl of District 10, there were a couple of volunteers. We have randomly picked the tribute from the two. That tribute is..."

As he opened the letter, I was biting my nails in fright. There was another volunteer from my district. That meant that there was a chance I could be saved from the games, but...

"Akia... Shotonaki."

For a few moments, nothing seemed to move. Everything was silent until I stood up and looked at my mother. She was the one who got me into this. She gave me the volunteer sheet. And yet, there was no sadness on her face. Why should there have been? She hated me, and I knew that. She thought I'd killed her husband, even though I proved to her I never did. In response, she essentially gave me a death sentence.

I walked slowly out of the room, and found everything around me to be blurry. I stormed through the hallway, my emotions boiling with hatred, anger, and sadness. I closed the door behind me, and stayed there for a minute, trying to calm myself down. When I slowly turned around, two policemen stood in front of me, with the rightmost one holding handcuffs by its chain. A few moments passed before I looked him in the eye, then sighed.

"Alright,"—I snapped my hands behind my back—"let's go."

I kept my eye on the leftmost man as the other walked behind me. I felt the piece of cold metal lock around my wrists; there was no possibility of escape now. The policeman pushed me forward, and we started walking.

During the walk, I looked up to see the neighborhood for the last time. What I used to think was disgusting quickly became very appealing compared to death. I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, my grandmother, sitting in her wheelchair next to her pet Poochyena. She watched me with sad eyes before returning into her house with her pet to comply by law; no one could leave their house during the raffle except for the chosen tributes until instructed to.

The walk to the town center took about ten minutes, and when we arrived, I looked at the machine that had ruined the lives of many. The transformation machine literally stood in the center of the district, reminding its people of their weakness compared to the government. Too many people went into the machines and never came out the same. We walked up the stairs to the machine, and I got my first look of it up close. It was largely white with light blue stripes, and it had two glass entrances, one for the boy, Kyle, and one for the girl, me. I watched as one of the police officers stripped me down to my undergarments before being taken into the chamber. One of the policemen took out a pistol and aimed it at me while the other walked behind me and removed my cuffs. This was smart, since they didn't want anyone to run once their cuffs were taken off. And I came very close to trying.

Internally, I was flipping out. My thoughts were going insane out of fear and restlessness. I was incredibly scared of my likely fate: Death as a weak and stupid Pokémon. Part of me wanted to run just so I could end my life early and not have to go through everything they had in plans for me. I didn't think it could get much worse.

Once the policemen had finished their work, I was left inside the capsule. I watched as the glass doors slid shut, locking me inside. I watched restlessly as they punched something into their control panel. I watched in surprise as a thin, metallic arm came down from the ceiling with a syringe in its claws. Through an index finger to the mouth, the policeman successfully told me to be quiet. My body tensed up, and as the syringe pierced my skin, I kept my mouth shut in an effort not to scream. The syringe sent a shockwave of pain throughout my entire body. I looked up at the top of the capsule and let out the loudest scream I could.

Or, at least, I tried to.

The syringe had cut my voice. I slid down the door and onto the floor, sobbing all the way. The game had complete control of me. There was no escape. I was going to die. To kill. All because of the game. I hated all of it.

I had to wait an excruciating while before I heard the horn blare, signaling the time to watch the transformation in the district center. I saw a few families leave their homes before more people started filing in. It was disorienting to see all the citizens gather around me; usually I would be one of them, but not anymore. Minutes felt like days watching as all the people came in, all to get a glimpse of my transformation. To watch me writhe in pain, scream in agony, have my life be ruined, right in front of them.

Except, I remembered... I wasn't alone. I couldn't see him, but I was next to Kyle Acosha, the biggest bully at my school. He was two years older than I was, and everyone at my school feared him. He had a massive chance of winning, as his physical strength was something to marvel at. Of course, he was going to be changing into a Pokémon, possibly leaving most of his strength behind, but he knew what he was doing.

Soon, the whole center was packed full of people. I hated attention, and this was taking that fear to another level. I just stood there, waiting, doing nothing in hopes of not embarrassing myself. It took ten more minutes for the opening speech to start.

"Hello everyone!" A young man said with lots of enthusiasm, "I'd like to introduce you to the tributes from District Ten! On my left, I have Akia Shotonaki, a volunteer! Akia is fourteen, and lest I forget, she was the girlfriend of one of last years' tributes. The boy, I should hope!"

Dead silence. Nobody laughed at any jokes made at the transformations. It was stupid to even try to make a joke out of an essentially murdered person. My cheeks went beet red out of humiliation and anger.

"Now, on my right, I introduce you to Kyle Acosha, one of the best lumbermen in the district! While he can certainly put up a fight, he's also a great thinker! He's seventeen, and I should guess that he's got a great chance of winning this year, what do you guys think?"

Surprisingly, there was quite a bit of applause. I did agree with him, but I hated the way he clearly had a bias toward Kyle. Not like I could yell at him about it, though.

"Alright, enough of my talking! We need to get this show on the road!"

I shot a glance at the speaker when I realized what he meant. My transformation would be starting within the next minute. The speaker never started that quickly! I started trembling out of complete fear. The speaker turned around.

"Alright, you two, arms up!"

Absolutely terrified, with my arms shaking uncontrollably, I raised my hands above my head. This was it. I had no clue what Pokémon I was going to become, but I was about to find out.

"All systems ready?"—A pause—"Okay! Activating in three..."

I opened my mouth and almost screamed before remembering I didn't even have that privilege.

"...two..."

A small arm, like the one before, came down from the ceiling. This time, the arm had a tiny vial in its claws. The vial contained what would transform me into a Pokémon.

"...one..."

I closed my eyes, and started trying to think of happy things. I thought about how happy I was without my mother, but that was the extent of what I was happy about. I feared what was about to happen. Then, it finally happened.

"...Activate!"

The single droplet inside the vial splashed onto my back. A shock wave of pain immediately racked my whole body, starting from the single droplet. My back felt like it was on fire, toppling me down to my hands and knees. I started to freak out. I was becoming either a four-legged Pokémon, or a snake. Both of which had extreme disadvantages against two-legged Pokémon. I hoped to Arceus that this was just me falling off balance, but my hopes went unanswered.

Suddenly, I heard a loud rip from behind me. My undergarments fell to the ground, torn to shreds. Looking behind me, I saw the formation of a tail. Before I could watch it change in hopes of finding out what I was becoming, my neck started aching like crazy, pulling my head back to the front. I heard multiple bones crackle in my neck, and I was forced to look upwards to accommodate for my reconfigured spine. Then, my eyes slammed shut without my consent, leaving me to wonder what was going to happen. My head started morphing and readjusting, with aching pains channeling to my head. I was incredibly worried that the transformation of my head would cause problems with my memory or intelligence, but that did not happen. My nose felt like it had been broken, before being busted into my face.

Even my eyes weren't safe, not even under my eyelids. I felt them stretching, morphing, and generally collapsing in on themselves. I felt my teeth become pointed, with my mouth feeling like it could move across my face. Then, everything went silent. I didn't know what was happening until my ears started moving, letting me know they were changing. I felt them move to the top of my head and morph into some big, strange shape. I felt a strange weight on my forehead, as if something had grown there...

My ears shot straight up with a whoosh, letting me know my hearing was back. I knew exactly what I was becoming in the back of my mind, but I didn't want to say it to myself in hopes of it happening... But then I felt something soft touch my arms. When I tried moving my head around, they moved along with it, making a sharp ruffling noise. I nearly screamed.

_I was becoming a Glaceon.  
_  
I remembered back to second grade, when a boy my age caught me drawing a Glaceon in class. One that happened to be killed in the 98th Pokémon Games. He was a boy named Sein, and we became boyfriend and girlfriend the following year. When he was chosen for The Pokémon Games, I came very close to volunteering before being shut up by my mom. He became a Trubbish, and was killed by the Gamemaker with a garbage incinerator as a joke. Needless to say, we ended up having to buy a new TV after I completely destroyed it, and I had to go to the hospital for the injuries I got from the multiple shards of glass in my knuckles. I loved Sein more than anyone or any_thing_ else, and when he was taken away from me, I volunteered for the next year immediately without thinking. I wanted to win the stupid game simply because I wanted vengeance. Pure, utter vengeance against the people who started that stupid game.

The pain from my arms snapped me back into reality, and I realized I could open my eyes. My arms were becoming white right in front of me, with my hands becoming a dark blue. My fingers exploded in pain, collapsing right in front of me and morphing together to form paws. With this, I started to cry. I got one of my favorite Pokémon, which made me incredibly happy, but there would definitely be major consequences for being a Glaceon. One of them was the lack of opposable thumbs. Sure, most Pokémon didn't have them, but that's when I realized I'd taken them for granted.

I was ripped from my thoughts when my shoulders started to ache, and my arms were pushed underneath my chest. That was how I would be able to walk with my front "legs". I felt my hind legs start to shift, and my feet instinctively went on the tops of their toes. My heels stretched away from my toes, and the heel of my foot broke down completely, as well as the foot in general. My upper legs readjusted their position, and my pelvis felt completely alien. My toes melted together before separating into three stubby digits, finishing my set of four paws. Then, the body pain started to settle down, giving way to numbness. I took a huge gulp of air and sighed heavily. In my head, I was seriously wondering why they didn't give me anything to numb the pain during the transformation, but at that point it didn't matter anymore. It was over. It was finally over.

A mirror slid down in front of me, and I was absolutely baffled, shocked, and reeled from what I saw. A pure, shiny Glaceon, with no scratches, or any blood... Nothing that would make me look even remotely human. I was one hundred percent Glaceon, and zero percent human... Except for my mind, which still felt like my old one. But I was shiny, and no Pokémon in The Pokémon Games had ever been shiny. For once in my life, I felt... special. I smiled for a few moments before remembering... I was going to remain a shiny Glaceon. Research had been done to find a way to restore the winning tribute's body... but nothing had been found yet. I fully believed they weren't going to find one, or even try to. Why would they have? Nothing was wrong with the way they were doing it, right?!

I attempted to stand up to look at my new Glaceon body from all angles. I struggled, confused on how to move properly, and stumbled around like a maniac. It was an unbelievable experience looking at myself in a mirror and seeing a Glaceon... Watching me moving my tail around like an extra arm, walking around on four legs with growing ease when it was strange as a human, swinging my head back and forth to watch my bangs swish around... I didn't think I could ever get used to it. I didn't know whether I liked it or not, it was just... unbelievable. Up to that point, I'd lived my entire life as a human... But I knew that I would forever be, irreversibly, a Pokémon.

I suddenly felt extremely drowsy. I could hear a hissing sound, my vision fogged up as if it were obscured from smoke... and within moments, I was asleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for reading this entire chapter! Don't worry, the actual Pokémon Games will be starting soon, I just thought a Prologue was needed. I need to give massive amounts of thanks to theleftywriter, he was insanely helpful with helping this story become something truly special. I can't recommend reading his stories enough; they are just as good, if not way better than mine! If you want to become involved with this story, why not favorite or follow this story, and a review would be fantastic! I also have an OC sheet on my profile for this story, in case anyone wants to submit one! Though, The 99th Pokémon Games will be starting soon, so send them in soon! Thank you for reading this, and have a great day!**


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly, I opened my heavy eyelids, and found everything to be blurry. I closed my eyes again and tried to rub them, letting out an inaudible yawn. Once I opened my eyes again, the blurriness had gone away, and I realized I had no idea where I was. I seemed to be lying the wrong way on top of a small but comfy bed. Looking around further, I noticed that I was in a tiny room, so small that the bed took up nearly a quarter of it. The walls were painted blue, there weren't any windows, a plain wooden door with a knob stood on the other side of the room, and there was a fancy fan spinning on the ceiling. Looking back down, I was momentarily surprised to see the paws of a Glaceon right where I thought my hands were, but then I remembered the experience I had with my transformation into a Pokémon. Not having any motivation to stand, I found myself drifting back to sleep.

Some time later, I heard the sound of a the door opening. Looking up, I saw someone standing in the doorway. The person looked like he was only eighteen, and seemed to be very nervous, made clear by the expression on his face. His hair was colored a muddy yellow with two flashy red tufts that were supposed to represent Pokémon ears... but the hair was severely lopsided to the right, blatantly showing he was wearing a wig. He was wearing a plain yellow t-shirt, yellow gloves, baggy blue jeans, and... no shoes or socks. Needless to say, I had absolutely no idea who the wreck standing in front of me was.

The strange guy walked up next to my bed, and knelt down in front of me. He extended his trembling arm out to me, and slowly rubbed the top of my head.

"H-Hey, A-Akia..." He muttered, his voice unsteady. I opened my mouth to respond before closing it again, remembering the syringe's silencing effects. "Ha... R-Right. D-Don't worry about t-that, w-we'll get you your v-v-voice back."

I smiled at the guy, for two reasons. First, it was dead obvious the guy, no matter what his job was, was fresh from the assembly line. He didn't know how to interact with me whatsoever. Second, just looking at the guy told me he was going to be a weird person to be around, for better or for worse.

"C-Come along!"—He stood up and walked to the door—"O-Oh, and my name's H-Houne, by the way! _N-Not that she'd be able to say it..._"

And with that, he was gone. Still slightly bewildered by Houne, it took me a bit before I got my bearings. I stood up awkwardly and jumped off my bed, somehow managing to land on all fours perfectly on my first go. I practiced walking around the room slowly for a few minutes, getting used to moving my alien limbs in the way I wanted them to. I stopped momentarily when I looked down; I expected a fully clothed, teenage female body, not a pair of furry white and blue arm-legs with paws that couldn't grip anything! I started trying to forget about my appearance as a human, as I knew it wouldn't be coming back anytime soon... or maybe not at all.

"H-Hey! A-Akia!" Houne yelled from outside my door, "C-Come on, we've got b-breakfast!"

Almost like a response, I heard a growl from behind me. I frowned, knowing that the growl should've come from underneath my head, not behind it. I trudged to the barely-open door, tired from learning my limits with my new body. Using my head to open the door, I walked out into the hallway. It looked just like the hallway of a hotel, with drawings on the soft carpet, lights on the red, wallpaper covered walls, and numbered plaques of gold next to the doors. Turning around to look at the number of my room, I saw: '[5]'. Looking to my left, I saw Houne again, and he was turned away from me. He opened the door and turned around to face me, holding the door open. I slowly walked through, keeping my eye on the strange man.

On the other side of the door were two individuals. There was a woman in her forties with short, lime green hair, some wrinkles, and ocean blue eyes... as well as a Pokémon. One that was surprisingly similar to myself, but different at the same time. It had spiky yellow fur, stood on four unsteady legs, and had an angry expression on its furry face.

My district partner, Kyle, stood in front of me as a Jolteon.

I glared at my partner with unmoving eyes and a smirk. His fate of becoming a Pokémon was exactly what he deserved. He was infamous at school for bullying so many kids, including me, and he actually nearly killed one of my classmates. Kyle, on the other hand, saw this as an insult. He bared his teeth at me, and opened his mouth as if to yell... only to realize the same thing I had: The injections were _still_ in effect.

"H-Hey, come on K-Kyle, it isn't so b-ba—" Houne started to say, being interrupted by a index finger to the mouth from the woman.

"You know what? Come on, you two, it's time to eat!" The woman said with a trill.

Pushing the two of us along, the woman slapped Houne on the back of the head, causing him to yelp in pain. Looking to my left, I saw a grin on Kyle's face, who must've found the introduction funny. We continued to walk down another identical hallway, until we came up to what looked like a dining room. A large table stood in the middle of the elegantly detailed room, with a stylized gold-and-maroon rug laid underneath it. A chandelier with four candles hung from the ceiling while swaying slightly. A total of ten chairs surrounded the table... And two golden bowls were placed on the floor, filled with a wide variety of berries.

I was suddenly overcome with a new, feral instinct to lunge for the bowl, filled with all its delicious contents. I was halfway to the bowl when I came to my senses, and stopped dead in my tracks. Realizing what I'd done, I took a few steps back, and tried to calm myself down, not wanting to lose what humanity I had left. Kyle, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. He charged for the bowl on the left and pushed his face into all its contents, sending berries flying everywhere. I backed off, deciding to wait until Kyle was done with his. The floor was a mess, with juices of all colors leaking out of the ruptured berries. I was hungry, sure, but I would never have made a mess like that, being a Pokémon or not.

Once Kyle was done with his bowl, I ran up to mine so Kyle wouldn't attempt to take it. I reached out my front right leg in an attempt to grab an oran berry, but stopped when I looked at its paw. My head drooped in shame, knowing I would have to eat like a Pokémon as well. Looking at the bowl and its contents, I slowly lowered my head, and bit the leaf of a yellow-and-orange leppa berry. I couldn't taste it except for a slight, subtle sourness. I reached down further and bit into a tan-and-blue chesto berry. It was incredibly tough, like trying to eat half the food at my school, so... it wasn't really that bad. It was very dry though, not being very juicy at all. On the bright side, its effects were similar to drinking coffee; I was quickly becoming less drowsy, and I felt like I had a lot more energy.

I kept on eating the berries very slowly, savoring every single one as if it was my last. After eating about ten of them, I started eating two at once for double the flavor! During my meal, I heard someone walk up behind me, and felt a needle penetrate my leg. I opened my mouth and yelled...

"GLAAEE!"

I quickly shut my mouth and blushed in embarrassment. I was suddenly able to talk... But I was speaking like a Pokémon; speaking the name of the species I'd become. I wouldn't be able to talk to humans anymore. I could understand them, but they couldn't understand me. I started feeling like a pet... Under the command of the master, and having no free will, ever. I felt trapped, locked from the rest of the world... Because no one could understand me.

And I _was_ trapped. In the games. And, later, in the arena. And even if I won, I would still be kept apart from my friends, since I would be released into the wild, and even if I managed to find my way back home, _no one would understand me_. My old life was completely gone, taken away by the games, never to be returned.

At least a minute passed before I stopped thinking about what my future could've been. No longer hungry, I slowly backed away from my bowl and looked over my shoulder. No one was there. I peered around the table, looking at the other side of the room. Absolutely no one there. I pondered what to do, as I had nobody to guide me. A tiny smile formed on my face.

_Why not take a look around?  
_  
Turning around, I went through the hallway that led to my tiny bedroom, and came across another door that was barely cracked open. Nudging the door open, I found an extremely cramped room with another door right next to it. I lifted an eyebrow, wondering where the heck I was. Passing through the door, an old habit reared its ugly head.

Using my right hind leg, I closed the door behind me.

_Craaap.  
_  
Realizing what I'd done two seconds after doing it, I tried reaching up to the door handle. Annoyingly, I somehow couldn't keep my balance for even a _second_ on two legs. This absolutely infuriated me, knowing how mindlessly simple opening a door used to be as a human. This became much worse when I realized I could probably open the door if my body allowed me to stand on my hind legs, since I probably would've been able to grip the handle, even with Glaceon paws.

Looking around the room for an exit, I realized that both the doors were completely shut, leaving no room for escape. I hurriedly glanced at every part of the cold, tiny room to see if there was anything I could use. On the cold, hard, metal ground, there was a long, coiled up rope that I could possibly have used later. There were a lot of sandbags as well, which were unbelievably heavy, mostly because I still wasn't quite used to my body yet. Moving them aside took a lot of effort, but when I did, underneath them was...

_...a selfie stick._

My paw slapped my forehead. Why, of all things, was a selfie stick there? It didn't make sense to me... _at all._ Regardless, I dropped my head down, and picked up the stick by its handle. Slowly walking over toward the door, I cocked my head to the side in order to make the stick line up with the handle. It was incredibly weird trying to push the handle down, but a few moments later, I managed to push the door open. The door slowly swung open, and I was greeted with another hallway, but this time with wooden walls. I'd opened the wrong door. I didn't really care, though, since I still wanted to check out the place.

Trudging through the hallway, I heard something. Coming to a stop, my ears shot straight up, and I listened closely. I could hear an old man's voice coming from the other side of the left wall. Pressing my ear against the wooden wall, I listened in. I was extremely curious, and wanted some more information of... anything, really.

"Yeah. I know, it's a really big problem. What will we do without a president?" A younger, male voice said, apparently replying to the older man.

"Just give the role to the Vice President, Seo Zakara. We'll say there was... suicide," The older man replied with a deep, gruff voice.

"_...What?!_" I whispered in shock, being completely confused. I wanted to continue listening, hoping that I would be able to understand what was going on. And the younger man... he sounded like Houne!

"Are you kidding me?! That's stupid! That would start a load of controversy! If we told people that the president actually committed suicide, people would lose their minds!"

"...Yep. Said that to them. They say they're working on a reason... But it's going to be hard to do. After all, Viscoshi has only been in office for three years, and he's already going to resign!"

"You know the reason, right?"

"Yep. I still can't believe anyone in District 7 would actually do that... I feel terrible for Denak."

"Me too. Freaking scumbags. Trust me, I'd take his fate if he could survive..."

"Of course you would, but you know that can't happen."

"Yeah... I know."

I jumped when I heard a click from the door, and it slowly opened. Houne stepped out, and looked in my direction. I was caught red handed, with my ear still against the door, and the selfie stick still in my mouth. The look on his face was one of astonishment and anger. He'd forgotten to put his wig back on, so his short, brown hair was showing instead. He was wearing the same attire, except he was _actually_ wearing tennis shoes. Houne slowly walked up to me, knelt down, and held my chin up with his thumb.

"Akia... You're freaking _clever_. But... we need to head back, okay? I don't know how much of that you heard, but I can't tell you any more of it for now, okay? I hope you understand..." He explained, looking me in the eye.

Standing back up, he walked right past me, and I followed right behind him. Coming up to the door, Houne turned around, and knelt down again.

"Alright, Akia. Please, cooperate with me here," he said with a very serious tone, "I'll talk with you later about all this... If you do what I want you to. Will you?"

"_Sure!_" I replied while nodding. Houne put his right hand in his pocket, and pulled something out. It was a red and white sphere with a button on the front. A Pokéball. He pressed the button, and the ball grew. Houne set the ball on the carpet, right in front of me.

"Please... Touch this." He pleaded, looking me in the eye with desperation. "I really don't want to get chewed ou—"

Without any hesitation, I reached my paw out and touched the ball. The effect was immediate. My vision went entirely red, and my body seemed to dissolve. Everything around me went completely black, and everything went completely, utterly silent. Then, slowly, I started feeling my body again. Almost out of nowhere, a podium with a big red button on top faded into existence five feet away from me. If I wanted to, I could run up to the podium, press the button, and I would be let free. The podium seemed to be floating away from me, but I stayed perfectly still.

A bell rang once, echoing forever in the endless void. Soon, I could no longer see the podium, and I was once again left in complete darkness.

The bell rang twice, letting me know I was nearly captured. Everything seemed to start glowing whiter and whiter...

And the bell rang thrice.

* * *

**Author's Notes: So... What did you think? I really tried to make this chapter great while also coming out the week after the first one, but I don't think I'll get that lucky again. I'd love some feedback on this chapter, to know if I made any mistakes, if there were any boring points, or maybe if there's something you really, really liked! Also, if you want to have an impact on the story, send me an OC! I'd love to see any characters you come up with! Thanks for reading this, and have a great day!**


	3. Chapter 3

Everything around me was perfectly still. A feeling of finality filled my mind… I was captured. If I were caught one hundred years ago, I would have been used by a trainer to fight against other Pokémon. Instead of dying, however, the Pokémon back then would only faint, and they rarely died, as I learned in school. But now… I was trapped, destined to be sent to the games. I would face off against thirty-one other Pokémon... simply for the right to _survive_.

Suddenly, a small circle on the floor shined a bright, white light. Straight lines of the same color shot out at every angle around me. The lines started rising up, and soon they were going straight up. They then curved back inward, all meeting at the same point above to complete the sphere-shaped grid, encasing me completely. Smaller, horizontal lines connected the vertical lines together, forming a spherical grid around me.

I slumped down, ears drooping, and I rested upon my paws. I was completely trapped inside the Pokéball, with absolutely no exit in sight. And, despite the confinement, it all still seemed incredibly… _surreal_. I couldn't believe that the inside of a Pokéball looked anything like it did: A virtual, computer-like outline of the ball. I heard so many rumors about the Pokéball; people told me that the Pokémon was happy and comfortable in their own little house. All the rumors were wrong… I was in a virtual _prison_.

I waited there for what seemed like an hour before having my ears hurt by an insanely loud horn. The spherical grid that surrounded me started to stretch and morph. The bottom of the sphere flattened out onto the ground, and four corners formed to make a rectangle that seemed twice as long as it was wide. The top of the sphere expanded, making a very high, round ceiling. The entire floor flashed a light blue, and when it faded, it revealed a border of the same color within the corners, a line halfway to the other side of the rectangle, and a faint blue glow everywhere else inside the borders. On the far wall, a large portion of the wall slid out, revealing what looked like a scoreboard. Once everything stopped moving, I looked around in amazement. Everything around me looked so futuristic, causing me to wonder how it was even possible.

Another buzzer blared, nearly shattering my eardrums with how loud it was. On the far side of the stadium, a giant blob of a goo-like liquid leaked through the wall and stopped when it reached the border. The blob stretched and morphed, taking on a form similar to my own. Four paws materialized, with similarly lupine legs. A tail creeped its way out from the back of the creature's main body, and a head-like structure stretched out from the front. Two white ovals overflowed from the head on the top, making a new set of ears. Details formed on its face, and it bared its fangs at me with its new, muzzle-like mouth. Even from the other side of the room, I could hear its loud, rumbling growl. It opened two new eyes, and its pupils became a frightening shade of red. This was like no Pokémon I'd ever seen before.

A minute passed, but our eyes remained locked in strife; mine in fear, its in agitation. We continued to stare, in silence, before I saw an orange glow out of the corner of my eye. A circular bar appeared on the scoreboard with a number, [60], in the middle. The number started to decrease, making a chime every five seconds, and the bar counted down clockwise. Slowly, I came to the realization that we were supposed to fight. I was standing on one side of a stadium, and my opponent stood ready for a fight on the other side. I stood up from my resting position, which was difficult since my legs were trembling so much.

Looking back up at the bright orange clock, [15] was shown in the center. The fight was going to start soon. My head started racing, trying to brainstorm ideas on how to fight the creature. I tried thinking about tackling, chomping, choking, or maybe even outsmarting my opponent. My eyes fixated on the clock as it slowly but surely entered singled digits. Buzzers could be heard every time the clock changed, causing my brainstorming to become a lot more difficult. It was only then I realized what I was, and what I could do. But I didn't know how to use any of my moves...

Too late.

The buzzer blared again, and I ran toward the creature. It grinned in anticipation, and ran for me as well. As we approached each other, I quickly side-stepped to the left, hoping to catch the creature off-guard. I slid to a stop and lunged for it, hoping to knock it over. I landed on top of it, and it collapsed right underneath me. I had the advantage in the situation, but I needed to figure out how to use my moves before I could even do anything. Otherwise, I would be useless for fighting. My paws didn't have claws, none of my other body parts were sharp or tough, and my teeth were only useful for eating...

_...Or were they?_

I swung my head down to the creature's neck, opened my mouth wide and gave it a big crunch. It howled in pain and attempted to raise its head up, but I held on tight. A voice in my head whispered me something I found amazing... I used the move **Crunch**! A dark type move didn't really seem fitting for a Glaceon like me, but I didn't care in the slightest. I re-opened my mouth, and aimed for the creature's left ear. My teeth met together with the ear in between, cutting right through as if there was nothing stopping them. After closing my eyes, I jerked my head to the right. With barely any resistance at all, I jumped off the creature with a piece of its ear still hanging from my mouth.

The creature howled in pain again, and I stopped for a moment to rest. I could not believe what I had just done... I was fighting like a Pokémon in the arena. I couldn't believe I'd done something so violent so easily. I was never a violent person, in fact, I tried to stay away from violence in general. I didn't know how I was able to fight like a natural... I just hoped that my instincts hadn't completely taken over.

Recovering from my brief daydream, I snapped my eyes open to find the creature staring at me with unblinking, infuriated eyes. Looking at the ear I tore off, a white liquid that resembled blood was pouring out of where the missing piece used to be. The creature gritted its fangs and charged full speed ahead towards me. Almost with a dreamy echo, the whispering voice in my head guided me to dodge to the right, and tackle it at a glancing blow. I charged for the creature, jumped to the right, slid across the ground, and pounced on it with incredible speed. The voice whispered to me again, telling me I'd learned **Quick Attack**.

The two of us tumbled to the floor, and with the momentum I still had from my attack, I slammed my head hard against the stadium wall. The impact crushed my skull, emitting a sickeningly audible crack. I screeched in pain as a splitting headache came on that felt like what I'd imagine being shot with a gun would be like. I couldn't focus on anything, even my own thoughts. Everything around me was blurry, and I couldn't see the other creature until it was right on top of me. It laid a paw below my neck, pinning me down, and dropped its head down to my chest. A sharp pain shot through my torso, and I realized that he intended to do the same thing I'd done to him: Rip flesh from my body. I was quickly losing energy, and I didn't have many options I could exploit to prevent it. Almost as if on cue from my distress, the voice whispered again, telling me to drop the air temperature around me. It sounded stupid to my human mind, but I didn't have many other ideas.

Closing my eyes, I tried focusing on the air around me, and imagined the world were suddenly freezing. I felt my body warm up, possibly preparing for what I was about to do. Within moments, the air felt heavy around me, and the suddenly colder air started to prick my skin like a barrage of needles. I felt the other creature's grip weaken before it let go altogether. It started to cough, then choke. It gave a strangled croaked from its hapless attempt to continue growling… and it finally fell limp on top of me. The voice whispered to me again, and I could not believe what I heard.

I'd learned **Sheer Cold**. A one-hit KO.

At that moment, a feeling of hope spread through me. If I was careful, and used the move only when absolutely necessary, I could have a chance at winning. A wide smile formed on my face as I became very tired, and within moments, I drifted to sleep.

* * *

"HEY, AKIA! WAKE UP! Come on, you sleepyhead~!"

Groggily, my eyes opened slowly, and found that I was no longer in my Pokéball. Instead, I was laying on a standard gray couch you would normally find in a train. I lifted my head from my paw and looked around. To my right was a window, complete with a metal wall underneath and red, transparent curtains to their sides. I looked to my left, and saw someone completely new standing over me. The person looked like a young, teenage girl only a couple years older than I was. She wasn't nervous at all; instead, she looked like she was excited to be with me. She had shoulder-length, natural red hair with two huge ponytails on each side of her head, two yellow triangles on top, and her face was both elongated and incredibly pale, almost resembling powder. She had a tiny, red nose, and her pupils were that color as well.

Her body was lean and thin, as were her legs. She wore a pure yellow dress that spread two times her body width, a pair of leggings that looked very fluffy, and a pair of high-heeled boots that covered everything up to her shins. What was most noticeable about her appearance, however, was that she had a tail; One that was very large and long, had yellow fur up until the tip where it was red, and half a wooden stick showing on top… just like the one a Braixen would have.

"I see you looking at me like that! What do you think of my costume~?" the excited girl asked me with an over-the-top tone, a spin, and a realistic wag of her tail.

I looked at her with squinted eyes, and shook my head while trying not to laugh. She was obviously trying to look cute to a person, but she was not cute to me. I began to wonder why a lot of the people I'd met were dressed like a Pokémon in one way or another… was it a trend? Were the workers trying to make me feel more comfortable? Or was it a joke from the capitol, to mock me? I didn't have a clue.

"Hey, Lexa!" A male voice yelled out, who I recognized as Houne's. "I know you're excited about your costume and everything, but don't go showing it to everyone!"

I watched as Houne ran up to the girl he called Lexa, placed his right gloved hand on the top of the couch, and glared at me with hopeful eyes.

"Akia, you're looking better! That said... how are you feeling?" Houne asked me with a small smile on his face. I nodded, knowing the two of them wouldn't understand me if told them how I felt.

"...Good!" he acclaimed, then turned to Lexa, "Hey, Lexa, let's sit up here."

"Houne… I can't, remember?" she said without her chipper tone, looking at him with sad eyes.

"...Right. There's poles here for a reason, I guess." he said, grabbing a metal pole I hadn't noticed before that stood to the left of my couch. Lexa followed suit, grabbing the same pole with four fingers.

I stood up on top of the couch and gazed out the window. The train was moving at an insane speed; I couldn't keep an eye on a single tree for more than two seconds. Outside the window was a lush forest, a stark contrast from the train I was in before. I could see a lake past some trees, with an island in the middle. Strangely, though, I couldn't see any Pokémon at all. Absolutely none.

I heard some chatter from the 'couple' behind me.

"Hey, Houne!" Lexa called in her signature chipper tone, "How was Akia for you? Hey… did the dare work out well?"

"Dare? Oh, you mean the newbie mode thing?" Houne responded, "Yeah, it worked out fine, but Kelly did give me a slap for something I said. Otherwise, Akia bought it."

"Of course she did! You're a brilliant actor! Your mom would be proud!"

"...Please, don't bring her up."

"R-Right." She sighed heavily in a whimsical manner of disappointment.

"So… how about you? Tim and Nicole?"

"Oh yeah! Tim became a Metang, and Nicole became a Mawile! It was really scary to watch their transformations, especially since we—"

"Okay, so how were they?" Houne said, cutting her off.

"R-Right! Tim wasn't really happy about his transformation at all. I made sure to stay a distance away from him, especially because of those metal arms…" She shuddered in apparent fear from the mere description of the Metang. "He did okay in his test, but he lost to the Virtual Pokémon. He's going to be fine, but he's still recovering from the fight. Nicole volunteered, and she's really acceptant of her new form! She told me that Mawile is her favorite Pokémon, so she got really lucky! She didn't do so hot in the test, and she's still recovering, too. She told me that she really doesn't like fighting, but that there was another reason she volunteered… she didn't tell me why, though."

"Cool. Erm… should we return Akia to her ball?"

"...I'm okay with that, I guess!"

Hearing this, I closed my eyes and felt myself dissolve. My vision went red like before, and soon enough, I saw the familiar spherical grid. I felt myself grow drowsy again, and passed out.

* * *

The familiar blare of the horn racked my eardrums, and I shot my eyes open. I was no longer in the Pokéball or the train. Instead… I was in a capsule that looked very similar to the transformation machine from home. However, after looking around, I noticed there was one big difference: the capsule had no visible door. The capsule floor was white, and felt like cold, hard metal. The walls were white as well, but they had a dual blue stripe that circled the entire capsule. The ceiling… was not there. Instead of a ceiling, there were dark grey, storm-like clouds high in the sky.

Suddenly, everything around me started shaking, nearly causing me to fall. I felt the capsule start to ascend, and I realized what was happening… I was being elevated into the games! I started to panic, being completely unprepared for the fight ahead. I wasn't expecting the games to start so suddenly, especially since the time between the train and the games felt like only a minute.

Twenty seconds passed, and the capsule stopped its ascent. I waited for the walls to fall like they did when I watched the games from home. Before they did, I was expecting a generic, boring forest that was the arena nine times out of ten. However… the arena was not a forest. It was not a desert. It was not a glacier.

It was a gigantic, sprawling _city_.


	4. Chapter 4

\- Day One

I gasped in surprise, and turned my head in every direction to view my surroundings. I was in the middle of a gigantic, deserted intersection. A giant tower stood in the middle of the intersection, which would display the countdown. Streetlights dangled from the poles that held them up with their frayed wires exposed and sparking. Many of the shops' windows were shattered, leaving fragments of glass everywhere on the road. The road itself was busted into cracks and potholes, making the city look like it had endured an earthquake.

Right above me were hauntingly dark clouds. Watching them closer, I noticed that they flashed yellow about every other second, letting me know a storm was coming very, very soon. A strong gust of wind rushed through my fur, chilling the air around me. My body temperature seemed to increase somehow, leaving me warm temporarily.

Taking another look around the intersection, I noticed I wasn't alone; the other Pokémon were here with me. Right next to me was Kyle in his Jolteon body, which was still bizarre to see when I'd gone to school with him for the past ten years! A lot of the other Pokémon were communicating with each other, and many yelled out "Team?!" in their hopes of forming alliances. I wanted to be careful with who I teamed up with, because it was very possible to get back-stabbed at any moment. I decided not to team up with anyone for the time being; I simply didn't want to risk it. Scanning the other Pokémon, a few stood out to me: A Milotic that was coiled up elegantly, a Gallade that seemed ready to strike, an Arcanine that was breathing fire with every breath, and a Servine that was keeping his eye on me the whole time, making me feel uncomfortable.

A loud beep cut through the air, echoing throughout the city. A crackle from a speaker followed, and I listened in.

"Welcome, tributes! This is Gamemaker Stilza speaking, I formally welcome you to the ninety-ninth Pokémon Games!" A gruff, male voice yelled, "Now, as you all can tell... we have prepared something special! As this event is the Eve of the 100 year anniversary of The Pokémon Games, we're not only changing up the arena, but we've added an extra rule as well! This year's Pokémon Games will be only seven days long, and a new danger will be added with each passing day. Because of this new arena, I think it would be a good idea to propose a few suggestions. Nobody lives in this city anymore, so you can steal from the stores as much as you damn well please! I'd also recommend that you stay near shelter at all times, as there will be strong winds, and there will be downpours! And... that's all I've got for you! Get ready, tributes! Good luck, and may the criticals be ever in your favor!"

The speaker crackled once more before cutting off completely, followed by another beep like the one before. I swung my head up to look at the top of the tower, and sure enough, [60] was displayed in the same neon orange glow. The thought occurred to me to find a route of escape. There was no chance in hell I would try to grab anything from the tower, especially since I was stuck with three stubs on my paws that couldn't grab anything if they tried. Turning to look behind me, I saw a glowing sign above the entrance of a building that read [NAVY CITY MALL]. I could've sworn I'd heard the name of the city before, but I didn't want to think about that. My priority was simply to escape from the intersection.

I came up with a rough plan that I thought could get me through the first day; I would enter the mall as fast as I could, and look for any food or weapons while inside. I'd find a place to hide, and use Sheer Cold whenever anyone came close by. Essentially, I was going to be playing a waiting game, but I knew it would absolutely keep me alive.

Turning around to look at the tower, I read [5] on the screen. I turned back around and leaned back on my hind paws, getting ready to run away.

Three...

Two...

One..!

The signature horn of the games blared into my ears. I charged off my starting point, and steered straight into the mall door. I didn't bother looking back, since I knew I would stop and stare at the violence, traumatized, if I did. Instead, I quickly glanced at all the shops inside the marble-floored mall. One store in particular caught my eye: A trainer attire store that displayed backpacks and handbags right behind the windows. I ran for the door, and rammed it open with a Quick Attack headfirst.

My skull ached in agony, but there was no time to hesitate. I saw a collection of backpacks in the back of the store, which I hurried toward without hesitation. Running around the different shelves, and knocking over one of them, I slid to a stop in front of the selection of bags. There were a ton of different varieties to choose from, but again, I didn't have the time to get picky. I saw a set of single-compartment bags that seemed tailor-made to lay over the top of Eeveelutions' backs, and I chose the ice-themed bag for obvious reasons. I grabbed the strap of the bag with my mouth, and tugged it off the shelf. I managed to swing the bag on top of my back, and the straps latched themselves together under my belly like magnets. I felt quite a bit of heft inside the backpack too, leading me to be hopeful that there were some useful items inside.

My work finished, I turned around and ran through the shop's hallway, and came to a halt when I saw someone run through the entrance. I couldn't get a good glimpse of the tribute, so I didn't know who it was, but anyone was a threat in the arena. I looked all around me for a place to hide, and I noticed a changing room whose door was wide open. I rushed inside the room while making as little noise as possible, then noticed there were many mini-rooms inside the changing room. In an effort to hide, I slid inside the only open changing room, jumped up onto the wooden bench, bit the bolt lock, closed the door, and slid it into the locked position.

I waited for at least a full minute before making another move, listening extremely carefully for any footsteps that followed me. Still unsure if the tribute was in the store, I decided to search inside the bag I'd obtained. Using my mouth to zip the bag open, I wedged my head inside the opening to see its contents. Inside the bag were a variety of items: A water bottle with a cap I could bite and pull on to open, a white, puffy glove, several red apples, and a sparkly aqua crystal. I grinned at the sight, since at least two of the items were of immediate use to me. The glove and the crystal, however, were where I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea how I could use them. Maybe holding the crystal could improve my attacks, but I was completely lost with the glove.

My ear twitched in response to a noise I heard, like that of a footstep making a screech on the marble floor.

I quickly turned my head to gaze under the large gap between the door and the floor, hoping to identify who made the noise. I saw a pair of yellow feet with three shiny white claws each standing right in front of my mini-room. Then, as soon as I saw the feet, the door gave in. It crumpled completely right before my eyes, revealing the intruder. A huge yellow shell completely covered the creature's back while letting two bushes grow on either side. Apart from the yellow tusks on its shell-skinned face and the bottoms of its yellow, ankle-less feet, it was entirely green, and it was staring at me with intimidating black eyes. It was a Grotle, the second evolution in the Turtwig line.

I did not know what to do. Even if I did, however, my legs were locked up and trembling due to being in a situation of life and death. I gritted my teeth, then started to brainstorm. I didn't want to have to use Sheer Cold yet, but I didn't know if it was necessary. The Grotle kept applying pressure to me, however, by slowly walking toward me while continuously staring with his lifeless, murderous eyes. I came up with a plan just in time, leaping up and sailing right over him as his forehead started to glow a blinding white. He charged forward to where I was, destroying the bench I was standing on in the process. Stylishly landing on all fours, I quickly spun around and crouched down, preparing to pounce on him in his moment of weakness. I Quick Attacked onto his backside, which rubbed both of my front legs hard against his rough shell, but the force of my impact pushed him hard against the concrete wall. I heard his hard-shelled face crackle loudly, making the Grotle yell in agony. As he stumbled backward, reeling from my attack, I leapt into the air, twisting acrobatically so I could land in front of him while facing him. Another voice in my head told me to add weight to my tail, then swing it in the Grotle's face. I did just that; My tail tensed up to the point where it felt like metal, then I hopped in the air with a twist, sending my tail right into the Grotle's cheek.

I felt his face's protection fail on the way through, and I knew there was no way he was going to survive a hit like that. Finishing my 360, I landed on all fours again, and saw the dent I'd done to the Grotle's face. It had completely caved in on itself, leaving green rubble and dust on the ground. The Grotle slowly fell forward, collapsing at my feet. Blood trickled through the opening, almost reminding me of running tears. My mouth fell agape, and my eyes went wide. I couldn't believe what I'd just done. I'd killed a person... even if they were in the form of a Pokémon. I started to feel lightheaded, but I fought the feeling. I could mourn over my culling later, once I was safe. I ran out of the changing room, my eyes filling with tears. Nobody else was in the store, thankfully, so I didn't have anyone chasing me... yet.

Leaving the store, the mall felt incredibly barren. Even when looking everywhere I could from the store's entrance, not a single Pokémon was running around the place. I wasn't relieved, though... I felt like something was out to get me. I ran for an escalator in the middle of the mall, and saw that they were still operational. I sat on the downward escalator, and looked at my front legs, checking for injuries. They were pretty heavily bruised, but there was no blood, and I couldn't find any cuts. While waiting patiently for the escalator to end, I tried to think up a different plan. I was feeling increasingly woozy, and I needed to find somewhere safe fast. As I came down to the lower floor, I noticed a furniture shop two stores down on the right. As I came down to the bottom of the escalator, I stood back up and ran for the store, hoping nobody would see me.

Coming up to the entrance, I noticed the door was wedged open. After sidling against a wall with my backside against it, I thought over my plan of entrance. I decided to just be insanely careful once I got inside, because once I'd would find my hiding spot, I wouldn't have much to worry about in terms of being found. Sneaking around the store, looking around corners, and making as little noise as possible took a lot out of me, and I needed a place to sleep, fast. After a couple minutes of searching, I finally found what I was looking for: the bed section. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be in the room with me, so I quickly slid underneath the nearest bed I could find. The floor was fluffy carpet, typical for this section of a furniture store, so I wasn't too uncomfortable...

...But I wasn't going to be falling asleep anytime soon.

I heard two tributes chatting right behind me.


End file.
